Not in my back yard, said the residents of Green Mountain Village — and they meant it.
For several months, residents have been up in arms. They recently learned a four-acre parcel of land that locals long regarded as protected open space was nothing of the sort. It is private property. What’s more, the chunk of land was recently sold to a developer. He intends to build despite vehement neighborhood objections.
The land slopes downward from Hayden Green Mountain, southwest of the crossing of Alameda Avenue and Florida Drive. Long-time residents have enjoy the wild landscape full of shrubs and thick grasses. They said the natural beauty of the four-acre lot has been a community asset, enhancing their quality of life and the monetary value of their homes.
Developer Richard Todd plans on replacing this untamed stretch of mountain with patio homes marketed to senior citizens willing to pay $400,000 each.
“I think when all things are said and done this will be a benefit to the neighborhood, economically speaking,” Todd said in early January.
Only a week earlier, Todd was nervously backing away from an angry mob of residents. Two days after Christmas and without permits, he directed a bulldozer down the side of Florida Drive through the heart of his property. Neighbors, already on edge about losing what they thought was open space, called police and confronted Todd.
By the time police arrived, a dirt road was chiseled into the landscape. Todd said he needed the road built to allow drilling crews to access the property and begin soil tests.
“I was called a money grubber and everything else,” Todd said.
Actions speak louder than words, said Rita Bertolli, a resident who has been actively trying to preserve the land as open space.
“He was aware of the controversy surrounding this issue, it was almost an inexcusable act,” she said. “We want this development blocked. Nothing can be built in a drainage ditch.”
Many think the land is an is not fit for building drainage ditch, but Todd aims to prove them wrong. A few hundred feet south of Alameda Avenue, the land drops off into a wide ravine. Todd said he plans to build north of the ravine, leaving the southern half of the property untouched.
He said he is willing to work with neighbors but, in the end, residents will have to respect his private property rights.
Councilman Ray Elliott, who represents the area, said he has had no direct contact with the developer, but he has heard from numerous residents. Early on, they tried to lobby the city to buy the property. When that didn’t work, they tried to buy it themselves. Failing that, city officials are the neighbors’ last remaining option.
Elliott said the developer will have to submit a preliminary proposal to the city, hold a meeting with neighboring residents, and then go before the planning commission and City Council.
For some neighbors that might not be enough.
“It really has gotten a lot of neighbors mad,” Bertolli said. “This time we are not going to be appeased by anybody. It is going to be a fight this time.”